can anyoine tell me about the ride to HALEAKALA FROM THE KAANAPALI AREA. ALSO HOW ABOUT THE DRIVE TO HANA. OR WOULD IT BE BETTER TO TAKE A GUIDED TOUR TO EITHER PLACE?

Aloha!

The drive from Kaanapali to Haleakala is one to make. I don't recall how long, but it was worth it. While in the Haleakala area, dine at the wonderful Halimale General Store and visit the old cowboy town of Makawao. Very old Hawaii. We only drove 1/2 way through to Hana. It was very nice, but long. We stopped at the botanical gardens which is lush with wild tropical plants and flowers.

Have fun!

The road to Haleakala is not a difficult drive. There is a service station near the airport that rents audio tapes for Haleakala and Hana. It's well worth it. The best part of the volcano is sunrise. If Maui is your 1st stop, since your body thinks it is further east, get up and head up for the sunrise. Have done the Hana trip once and once is enough. It is beautiful but it is long and difficult on teh driver.

hello -- if you're used to city driving ONLY, then both drives will be QUITE the adventure -- if you're from the country like us, it'll be NO BIG DEAL -- i agree with the post above, go up the volcano on the first morning you're there, since you'll be waking up so early, naturally -- that's what we did and it worked out great -- we were there in march, and it must have been 40 degrees with 50 mile an hour sustained winds -- we took long johns and blankets -- it was COLD!! -- for hana, i'd recommend staying overnight -- we left a room at the ritz in kapalua to stay in a $75 a night room in hana, just so that we could really enjoy "the real" hawaii, and not do the exhausting round trip all in one day -- i'd go to both places again, and i'd do it all the very same way.... gloria

We took the bike tour to Haleakala for the sunrise. They pick up at your hotel in a van, watch the sun come up and ride bikes downhill. It is a great trip and you see wonderful scenery all the way down. Includes a stop for breakfast. It is very cold on top of the mountain and we went in the summer. The road to Hana is an adventure to say the least.

We took the bike tour to Haleakala for the sunrise. They pick up at your hotel in a van, watch the sun come up and ride bikes downhill. It is a great trip and you see wonderful scenery all the way down. Includes a stop for breakfast. It is very cold on top of the mountain and we went in the summer. The road to Hana is an adventure to say the least.

Re: the road to Hana.....it's the journey, not the destination that entertains you on this drive. Definitely do it yourself, not on a bus, as it will be more comfy with the stops and gos traffic in your own air-conditioned vehuicle. Definitely dont do it with children or persons who are unable to be patient. Its a whole day adventure, and do it with an early (7am?) start and some food and drink for sustenance and a state of preparedness feeling! But it definitely is "nature's amusement park-of-a-drive", in both sights, sounds, and the ability to drive a car for about 8 hours or more stop and go. Take your time, everyone always comes out alive! (except the crazy risk-takers). And finally, dont let any sign or rental car law tell you that you have to go back the way you drove in, becausewe drove right around thru hana andonto the dirt road past all the warnings not to, and as long as you are responsibly driving, you to will enjoy yourselves! Have fun, and find Lindbergh's grave on the way home, cause unfortunately we missed it!

I drove from Kapalua to Haleakala last year and as I recall it took about 2 hours. Another GREAT Haleakala adventure is the horseback riding. A company called Pony Express does 1/2 day and full day rides [both with lunch] down into the crater. You can drive to the top, see the sunrise, take a short nap in the car then meet the guide and horses about 9:30 at the visitors center and ride down into the floor of the crater [about 3000 feet down from the summit]. Cost was $125 per person for 1/2 day ride which I did - it lasted till about 2PM. Definitely the BEST day I spent on Maui. You can book Pony Express thru your hotel concierge or email them - I think their address is [email protected]

I've been to Maui 4 times in the past 2 years, and Haleakala and Hana are "must sees." Although the sunrise is beautiful, you'd do better by going up for the sunset at Haleakala. This was first recommended to me by the owner of "Hike Maui" and experience proved him to be right. Afterwards, head down to Paia and eat at Mama's Fish House (tourists and locals favorite) for possibly the best meal you'll have on your entire trip! As for Hana, do the day trip yourselves and try to go beyond Hana for about 10-15 miles. There's abeautiful hike through a bamboo forest that leads to a 400-ft waterfall. Ideally, you should consider staying in Hana for 2 nights. I stay at Hana Kai Condo Resort, which is the closest place to the water. The road to Hana AND THE ROAD BEYOND HANA should not be missed.